Once Upon A Time

Dagian watched the candle on the stand against the wall burn down till it was absolutely nothing. The curtain stayed closed but she could see some of her surroundings because of the window.

The night passed but Dagian didn't sleep. Her husband lay next to her. Their backs were turned to each other. He'd tried snuggling behind her but both had reached an unspoken agreement that it just didn't feel right and he'd moved back to the opposing side of the bed. By the sound of his breathing, she knew he was awake as well. Gods knew what was going through his mind but he seemed as equally uneasy and confused as she did.

This wasn't supposed to have happened. She was his prisoner and a mother; she most certainly wasn't his wife.

She wasn't meant to feel safe when he took her in his arms last night. She wasn't meant to almost feel grateful that he was with her of all people. It wasn't supposed to be satisfying to lie next to him after they'd collapsed against the bed together in exhaustion from 'connecting' after what they'd experienced.

She tried to make sense of the feelings that were racing through her mind but she realized that she wasn't any closer to a solution than she had been when they started. Then what was that supposed to have been? A moment of weakness. It had to be. Neither one could allow for it to become something more. They would just most certainly hurt each other again.

And she couldn't blame him for this one. She'd been the one to initiate what happened last night. He'd just obliged her. What better way to humiliate her than to get her in his bed as a wife?

Or what if he did care? What if there were feelings there that both still had? She knew that Rumpelstiltskin was capable of love. She'd seen him dote on Bae constantly, but she did not want to be the object of his affection. It was never going to be like it was.

What happened now?

The sunlight hit the window and as if that were his cue, Rumpelstiltskin threw the comforter back and started getting dressed.

She swallowed the weight in her chest and sat up as well.

He glanced at her, "You look like you got as much rest as I did. Add that to what's already going to be a long day…"

"What do we do?"

"Well, I suppose we'll do what we normally do. I'll spin and take care of business, this time away from the house. And you'll watch Bae and manage the house while I'm gone."

That wasn't what she meant and he knew it, "We can barely manage the son we have."

He turned sharply at her implication and the anger dissolved into a kind of sadness, "Evil isn't born dearie. And since I'm under the dark one's curse I don't think you'll have to worry. This curse has had a hundred hosts and it's never happened. You won't conceive."

Her hand went to the bruise forming on her shoulder and she averted her gaze from him and stared at the wall to keep from panicking at the idea that she would actually consider being with him again.

She wouldn't deny that last night hadn't been a good idea. And maybe she'd underestimated just what she was getting into. When he was with her…she couldn't deny that there was a dark dangerous passion they'd explored that night, and she didn't ever want to explore that side of herself again. But she also couldn't deny that there was such tenderness to his touch last night that almost reminded her of how it used to be.

She was aware that he was watching her for her reaction.

She looked at him in a way that both expressed her desire and told him they couldn't cross that line again, "Rumpelstiltskin, I want to but I can't."

"Don't worry dearie," he said and there was a hint of anger and disappointment in his voice, "It was just a once. You have your reason for being here, and I have my reason for keeping you here and that's the end of it and I don't ask for anything more. Nothing between us will change."

She jumped when he pulled the curtain open and the chill of the house hit her hard, plunging her back into reality.

"Get dressed," he told her, "Bae will be awake soon."

Present Day

Gold turned from his place on the bed and nudged his wife, "Dawn?"

"What?" she asked in annoyance...

"I'm thinking of defending Ms. Blanchard."

Dawn hated it when he did this. Wait till she was almost asleep and then drop bombshells like this on her to get her awake again.

She didn't open her eyes, maybe if she tried to pretend that she didn't care then he'd leave her alone, "That's nice honey."

"I don't think you heard me," he pulled himself up to her and kissed her cheek, "Mrs. Blanchard is being accused of murder and I'm going to represent her."

He wasn't going to leave her alone, was he? "And why would you do that? She doesn't have money, she's a teacher."

"Why wouldn't I? I think she's innocent and thanks to my studies in law it is my moral duty that I assist her."

"Since when has morality ever affected what you did?" she asked, trying to keep the monotone sleepy voice that would hopefully give him a clue.

"It usually doesn't," he ran his hand over her swelling stomach, "Ask me why I'm going to do this."

"I'm pretty sure I just did," she muttered, "But I'm guessing that it has something to do with Regina because that's the only reason you do anything that doesn't involve getting money."

She could hear his disappointment she she'd guessed in his next sentence, "Well…her and our fearless distract attorney."

She lifted her head and turned over to face him, he smirked when he saw that he had her attention and she swore that he wasn't going to have any more husbandly privileges as long as she was pregnant for doing this to her, "What do you have against Mr. Spencer? Didn't you used to go golfing with him?"

"Only because he used to pay for lunch but otherwise I found his personality to be void and his temperament to be unpredictable and his hunger for justice to be…nonexistent."

"You could've told me this before I spent years having dinner with his wife just because I thought you two were friends."

"Well I thought you two were friends and that's why I tolerated him," he pressed a light kiss against her cheek. One of the ones that he knew that she liked and Dawn wondered how long she could resist him when he pulled this.

"You do realize that you're trying to seduce me while we're talking about our district attorney."

"I have a strong stomach," he brushed his lips against her ear and she tried to give in at the feel of his breath against her ear.

"And I have work tomorrow."

"Take the morning off. I'm sure I can be persuasive to your employer considering he pays me rent."

It was tempting. She'd much rather be easing some of her tension with him instead of on her feet tomorrow but she had a feeling that if she chose the latter then he'd keep chatting excitedly about his plans and either way she wasn't going to go to sleep.

"If I say yes then you promise that you'll let me sleep afterwards?"

"On don't pretend like I'm alone in wanting this, you've been giving me that look all day."

She sighed, he was right. It had been three days since they'd last gotten intimate and she was starting to feel a little lonely. It was ridiculous that now that they decided to actually try to have a relationship that their drive slowed down.

Maybe the pregnancy had something to do with that too.

She might as well get what she could now because with him remembering he was a lawyer and her getting more and more pregnant she doubted that they'd have much time for it later.

"I better get breakfast in bed in the morning," she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for a kiss.